Yesterday was a
brilliant day with which the Lord blessed us here in Central New York. The sun
was brightly beaming every where you went. The hills and mountains were aglow
with autumn colors. The the hills and mountains were laughing, the trees were
shouting and singing praises to the Lord. I spent much of the day in the Triple
Cities yesterday visiting some friends at the hospital. One woman had open
heart surgery. She is recovering well. She is beautiful person who loves the
Lord and has served Christ faithfully. I visited anther person who had gone
through a major surgery and is recovering well. Her husband was with her. They
both shared about the Lord, about His faithfulness to them and to their family,
and to their extended family. They shared about their church and how the church
family has been a great blessing to them. While in the hospital I met a medical
personnel from Bosnia, a new immigrant. She shared about the blessings of being
in America the beautiful. Much of her family lives in Bosnia and some of them
live in Germany.
In the evening I visited a dear
couple. The wife had a surgery and is home recovering. It was gorgeous
evening. They live on a lovely spot surrounded with beautiful meadows, trees,
and pasture land.
Yesterday I found out about the death
of a saint of the Lord. He was 89 years old. He and his wife were married 68
years. They were committed and devoted servants of Jesus. They led weekly
Bible Studies in their home for over 30 years. They had also led Lay Witness
Mission teams for over 25 years. They led Holy Land tours. They were partners
in ministry with us for many, many years. We had lead one tour to Israel
together. It was a blast. They had also served on short term missions South
Africa and Central America. I praise the Lord for the witness and obedience of
this servant of Jesus. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His
saints."
“May the
God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus" are words of
parting and benediction from the Book of Hebrews. This speaks of the power of
the resurrection. The author of Hebrews reminds us in this benediction that it
is the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ which is at work in us in order
that we can live the Christian life. By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God
equips us to live as He wants us to live. In Romans 8:11, the apostle Paul
tells us this. “If the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in
you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal
bodies, through His Spirit who dwells in you.” He’s talking about the power of
God, the power that raised Jesus from the dead, being at work in us to give us
new life.
In John
10, Jesus told His disciples, “I am the Good Shepherd.” In saying this, of
course, He was pointing back to Psalm 23 and God’s
shepherding providence over His people. We are never in the valley of the
shadow of death without our God being there with us. The author of Hebrews is
reminding us that our great Shepherd, by virtue of the resurrection, is alive,
and He ever lives to intercede for us, and watches over us all the time. He
doesn’t call us to live the Christian life on our own. “I will never leave you
or forsake you. Lo, I am with you always,” He said in the Great Commission. He
is with His people as the great Shepherd of the sheep, watching over us as we
live the Christian life. The God of peace grants us His peace for the living of
the Christian life. God, who by His power raised Jesus from the dead is working
by that same power in us to live the Christian life. Jesus, the great Shepherd
of the sheep, is still, in His providence, looking over His Church and watching
out for us.
"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end
of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for
the first time."
In Christ,
Brown
https://youtu.be/9BzvA5abiTs
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